Page 80 of The Lighthouse Keeper

Because you distracted him. Somehow or other, you are at fault.

NO. My jaw clenched.

“Do you have a spare? Something we can replace this with?” Margaret’s cool common sense brought us all to the task at hand.

Without speaking, Rafe went down the stairs more quickly than a man with a cane should have been able. I followed, and found him on the ground floor, kneeling in front of the only cabinet in the place.

“Gone.” He sat back on his heels, hands clasped, shoulders slumped. “Whoever destroyed the mechanism must have taken it, too.”

“You don’t have spare parts?” I asked. Repairing the light took priority. We could figure out who disrupted Rafe’s spell later. “I mean, they may have taken the replacement, but maybe we could build one. Do you have anything in your workshop that might help?”

To his credit, he shook himself and rose to his feet. “Yes, though there may still be pieces we’re missing.”

“If you can describe them, I should be able to create them. My magic’s not strong enough to last for long, but it might give us time to come up with something more permanent.”

He faced me, his expression terrifying. “First, I must repair the spell.”

"But the light…” Della said weakly.

Rafe shook his head. “Give me a moment.”

I was still struggling to come up with a reasonable counter-argument when he disappeared up the stairs.

He was back sooner than I expected. “The spell is unharmed. The wards are in place.”

We all stopped, sorting through the implications of his words.

Margaret was the first to understand. “If they didn’t break through the wards, then whoever destroyed the mechanism was here already.”

Rafe nodded once. “And is still here.”

I glanced around, as if expecting a gaggle of strangers to bust through the tower door.

“I should never have lowered the wards,” Rafe snapped.

“You had no choice.” Margaret raised her finger, her words sharp. “I could never have let that monstrous storm destroy everything around us while we stayed safe.”

Rafe said nothing, his gaze on the floor. Della edged closer to Margaret, which gave me an idea. “We’ll split up. You and I will repair the mechanism, and while we do that, your mother and Margaret can look for any clues as to whether there’s someone else here.”

“Someone else is most definitely here,” Rafe said tersely.

“I agree, so the sooner we fix the mechanism, the sooner we can find them.” I kept my tone calm, or as calm as possible, and as soon as I stopped speaking, Rutger came through the tower door.

“Everything all right?” he asked, blinking at us, as if his eyes were still fogged with sleep.

“Just a small problem.” I said, speaking with more confidence than I really felt. “Someone destroyed the lighthouse’s winding mechanism.” I glanced at Margaret, not daring to look at Della or Rafe. Margaret’s expression was a careful mask. “Despite the protection wards, which means it was someone inside.”

“Della and I are going to take a look around, to see if we can find anyone.” Margaret’s tone was cold, direct. “Maybe you can help us.”

“Happy to. Point me in the direction you want me to look.”

For one awkward moment, we all paused, as if a large elephant had walked into the room along with my friend. Rutger looked like himself, the same man I’d worked with and spent time with after work. He could not have destroyed the mechanism. He couldn’t have.

“Let’s go.” Margaret brushed Della’s arm, her face hard with determination. “We’ll get started.”

She spoke with such assurance that even Della brightened. “We can also look for the spare mechanism. If our enemy is still here, then so is the part that they stole.” They flanked Rutger and more or less marched him out of the tower.

“Wait here, Vincent.” Rafe said. “I’ll go to my workshop and see if I have any of the pieces we’ll need.”

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